


Just A Little Crush

by Reyn



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Crushes, Denial of Feelings, M/M, Season one setting, dickwally bromance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-08
Updated: 2017-08-24
Packaged: 2018-12-13 00:59:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11748801
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reyn/pseuds/Reyn
Summary: Superboy's recent obsession with romance movies have led him to interesting conclusions that Robin isn't fully sure how to deal with.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Master_of_the_Rebels](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Master_of_the_Rebels/gifts).



> Birthday present for MasteroftheRebels. She wanted something along the lines of awkward realization of feelings with Superboy being his happily oblivious self. As usual, I screwed it up somewhere along the lines. I hope she doesn't hate it...

"Hey guys."

The small answering scream was startling, but the jumps from just about everyone else made things more than a little amusing.

"Jesus, learn to make a little noise when in civvies, will you?" Wally demanded, his hand over his heart as Kaldur calmly went about retrieving the salad bowl that had been telepathically frozen midair, as well as the lettuce leaves that were scattered about in suspense. "I hate it when you do that."

Robin merely grinned as he plucked a cherry tomato that was hovering beside Megan's ear and popped it into his mouth. "Sorry," he apologized, not even bothering to try and sound sincere. He made a quick observation of the area and motioned his head towards Superboy, who was sitting in the living room, watching the TV – which was actually turned on. "What's with him? Was he banned from the kitchen?"

Megan blushed and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear before she resumed with chopping the vegetables. "Superboy's really been into romance movies lately. He'll probably join us when it's over. "

Artemis snorted from her position by the stove. "And that's if we're lucky. He actually growled at me earlier when I tried to change it to the news."

"Eh, I wouldn't be too worried about it," Wally said as he took the bowl from Kaldur and sped it over to the dining room, returning empty handed and leaning against the island opposite of Robin. "I mean, he's a bit inept when dealing with human emotion, so it's no wonder a few chick flicks have hooked his undivided attention. He's pretty much learning the only way the G-gnomes taught him how." Wally looked around at the staring faces. "What? It's a  _good_  thing!"

"Yeah, but he already knows that experience is a better teacher," Robin pointed out, passing Artemis a plate of prepared Chinese broccoli as she quietly asked for it. "So if he's willing to sit there and be taught about how dating and relationships work, what does that mean for his future?"

"Perhaps he has someone in mind he would like to court," Kaldur proposed, taking up guard duty as he leaned against the door to the fridge.

The sound of Megan's chopping faltered a bit before resuming its pace.

Wally's scowl melted away into a scoff. "Who, Supey? No way. He's hardwired with the social skills of a rock and I highly doubt they bred love and lust into his DNA. It would defeat the purpose of being a 'living weapon.'" His voice turned mocking as he sketched out the air quotes with his fingers.

"It's still a romantic concept," Robin put in thoughtfully. "The beast who was born to hate trying to learn how to love." He took in the odd looks he was receiving and ducked his head. "Sorry. We've been discussing  _Frankenstein_  in literature class recently."

"Way to be a nerd, Rob." Wally appeared by his best friend's side, a bag of potato chips in hand. He sent a grin and Kaldur, who was currently frowning. "When's dinner going to be ready? I'm starving."

Artemis sent the speedster a half-hearted glare, but before she could answer, Superboy entered the kitchen, his presence garnering everyone's undivided attention.

"You have a crush on me."

The knife clattered from Megan's hand. However, as it became apparent that Superboy was actually staring at Robin who was beside her, jaws began to drop. Looking between the two males, Wally decided this was definitely something he wanted to witness and opened his bag of chips, leaning against the counter on his elbows.

"Uhm… _what_?" For once Robin seemed to be a bit at a loss of words.

"You have a crush on me," Superboy repeated, his expression battling between frustration and neutrality. "I know. I've seen it."

Robin's mouth flapped soundlessly a few times before he settled for dumbly restating his previous question. " _What?_ "

Superboy's frustration began to win out at the idea of having to reveal his revelation for the third time in less than a minute. "You have a—"

Kaldur stepped forward, quick to interrupt on both parties' behalf. "I think what Robin is trying to say is what caused you to reach this conclusion?"

Scowling, Superboy mentally ran over his list of evidence. "He…always seems happy when he talks to me, he likes spending time with me, he shows off in the training room when I'm there, he…stands close to me, and—"

"Okay," Robin interrupted, finally finding his voice. "First of all, I'm your friend, so of course I like to chat with you and hang out. Secondly, it's not 'showing off', it's called natural talent," he enunciated, ignoring Wally's snort. "And thirdly, we were in Russia! You give off an unnatural amount of body heat!"

"Aw, if that's how you felt, Robby, I would have gladly vibrated up some warmth for you," Wally cooed, making kissy faces around his mouthful of chips.

Disgusted, Robin pushed his face away. "Your suit is designed to resist friction, which means keeping the heat out  _and_  in."

"What? No, you got it wrong. See, if I were to vibrate, the suit would vibrate with me, moving the air molecules—"

"You also watch me," Superboy finished, eyes narrowed at the way he had been disregarded in favor of banter-turned-intellectual argument.

Jaws once again dropped.

"He…watches you," Kaldur echoed, his tone skeptical.

"Creeper," Artemis sang as she poured the completed meal into serving dishes.

"I'm sure there's a perfectly logical explanation. Right, Robin?" Megan's overly-hopeful gaze was lost on the Boy Wonder as he stared disbelievingly at Superboy.

"I  _what_?  _What?_ " How can you even tell?" Robin's movements were agitated as he motioned towards his sunglasses.

"I can feel it." Superboy stubbornly crossed his arms.

"Are you sure you don't have better evidence for this claim? Like x-ray vision, perhaps?" Kaldur tentatively suggested.

Robin quickly nixed the theory. "The sunglasses and domino mask are lead-lined."

"Geez, paranoid much?" Artemis teased, carrying dinner out to the table and motioning for Megan to help.

"Seriously?" Wally peered at Robin curiously. "How do you even see through those things?"

"Well…I do suppose instinct is a warrior's greatest asset," Kaldur acquiesced, rubbing the back of his neck. "But I don't think it's wise to make such accusations after getting your information from just one source of genre." His arm swept out to the pile of movies on the coffee table.

"It was an honest mistake," Wally dismissed while straightening. "I'm sure the Bats just has Rob under strict orders to observe Supey here and report his findings for their own records." He dropped his self-assured pose in favor of a more humble, pleading one. "Can we eat now? In case no one noticed, the girls already left with the food."

"What kind of findings?" Superboy asked curiously.

Despite his eyes being on Robin, it was Wally who answered. "Oh, the usual stats, I'm sure. Your strength, how you're adapting to life outside of a pod, your emotional levels, how your fighting skills are improving, hints of new powers manifesting, stuff like that."

"Oh."

"He could also be watching to make sure you don't turn evil and kill us all."

At those words, Superboy's features morphed into anger. Sending Robin a betrayed glare, he turned and stormed into the dining room. Even Kaldur seemed to disapprove of the theory as he followed suit.

"Thanks, Wally," Robin deadpanned.

"Anytime." Wally's unsure look transformed into a reassuring grin as he turned from where the rest of the team was and faced his friend. "You can yell at me for that later when we talk. For now, let's eat!"

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

"Alright, spill."

Robin's glare went unnoticed as Wally dutifully locked the door and began to pace the large bedroom at super speed. "Now, don't get me wrong, you know I don't mind covering for you when the team gets nosey. The questions make you uncomfortable 'cause you don't want to estrange yourself from everyone but you and Bats have this strict don't ask, don't tell policy that I totally respect. Really. I do. But sometimes you just  _gotta_  ask."

Robin would have chosen to walk away before this point, but he had learned long ago that it was next to impossible to walk away from Wally. The boy always caught up too fast. So instead he remained cross-legged on his bed, chin resting on his fist, as he waited for the speedster to invite him into the one-sided conversation.

"And I figure I'm entitled to the one, seemingly meaningless, question every once in a while since not once have I ever tried to pry or sat there obsessing over the secrets you keep."

"I don't keep secrets from you," Robin pointed out boredly, failing to suppress a yawn.

"That's completely beside the point. Now don't dispute me or you're going to undermine my argument." Wally stopped moving long enough to wag a finger at his friend before resuming his pacing at a normal, human speed. "Superboy said you watched him – which is completely creepy in and of itself – but then you didn't even try to deny it! You're not really under orders to find any hints that he may be secretly evil, are you?"

"No!" Robin would have been offended, but Wally was already nodding in understanding.

"I didn't think so. But then that leads me to the only other obvious conclusion, and before I put it out there, I would just like to say that even without my superhero status, I believe in free love of all kinds and would never judge you or think less of you as a friend over something like this."

Robin found himself returning to his earlier level of coherency. "What?"

Wally turned to face him. "Your crush on Superboy," he said, fully expecting to see dawning comprehension smooth out Robin's features.

"My  _what_?"

"You don't have a crush on Supey?" Wally mildly confused frown spoke volumes.

"I—" Robin stopped himself to actually think about it. "No…!"

Wally's eyes narrowed as he instantly caught the hesitancy in Robin's answer. In an abrupt creaking of bedsprings, he was sitting cross-legged before Robin. "Spill," he demanded.

Robin looked down at his lap. He would have loved to change the subject or even ignore the redhead, but Wally was doing that thing where he stared without blinking to show that he was giving you his undivided attention, and quite frankly, it freaked Robin out.

"I don't…have a crush on him," Robin reiterated, wishing he sounded a bit more confident in that statement. "I just…"

"You just…?" Wally prompted when the suspense became too much. At Robin's continued refusal to meet his eyes, Wally threw his hands up in the air. "Oh, come on! I'm starting to feel like I'm in some poorly scripted movie."

Robin couldn't even manage a grin as he ran his hand agitatedly through his hair. Was he really about to admit such an embarrassing secret to his best friend? One glance at Wally's unusually serious face told him yes.

"I…admire him." Robin scowled as his voice grew involuntarily softer with each word. He cleared his throat and tried again. "His body. I admire his body." His head snapped up and he put on his most threatening glare. "I swear to God, if you tell  _anyone_ —"

"Whoa, relax! I'll file this secret away with just about everything else I know about you," Wally pacified. "Although, I have to admit, I am a bit tempted to laugh…" Robin's glare intensified. "Kidding. So, uh, why are we admiring his body?"

Robin shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe because he's completely ripped? I'm allowed to admire that! I mean, I probably work and train for more hours than the entire team combined and I'm still the puniest of the lot!"

"Well, duh. It's called puberty, something you obviously have yet to meet. Besides, I highly doubt anyone thinks of you as puny. You're more like compact…" Wally searched for a good word. "…kickass!"

"Compact kickass?" Robin snorted. "That almost sounds like a really bad name for an energy pill or something."

"Hey!" Wally leaned forward, growling at Robin's smirk. "You're not allowed to judge when you're jealous of the muscles a man was  _cloned_  with."

Robin's leg promptly lashed out and kicked Wally off the bed.

"I'm  _not_  jealous. I'm…fascinated."

Wally's grumbling complaints as he hoisted himself up abruptly ceased. "…What?"

"He was raised in a  _pod_ , KF. And then we pulled him out of it and introduced him to all the stuff we generally take for granted in life. He's essentially missed out on all the experiences that make you human, but he's still trying. And when he comes across something new for the first time, he gets this look on his face…"

"Dude," Wally whispered in awe, his head perking over the bedspread, "you  _do_  have a crush."

"What?" Robin blinked, snapping out of his memories. "No, I don't. Weren't you listening?"

"Uh, yeah. Weren't  _you_  listening?"

Robin's face fell. "Aaaand we're done now."

"What? Aw, come on!" Wally's arms spread out pleadingly. "You were really opening up to me! Don't close yourself off now. I feel like we were making real progress with our relationship!"

"We don't have a relationship." Robin grabbed a fistful of Wally's shirt and physically dragged him to the door.

"You wound me, bro. But, you know, they say admittance is the first step to overcoming denial."

"They don't say that."

"Sure they do!" Wally twisted out of Robin's grip and turned to face him from out in the hall. "I'm here for you every step of the way. Just repeat after me: I have a crush on Superboy."

"I don't have a crush on Superboy!" Robin snarled.

The door was slammed in Wally's face.


	3. Chapter 3

"I don't have a crush on Superboy," Robin petulantly muttered to himself as he watched the clone train with Black Canary.

At the whispered mention of his name, Superboy lost his focus and was slammed into the floor hard enough to cause the holographic screen to flicker as it displayed 'STATUS: FAIL.' Rather than help him up, Black Canary crossed her arms and launched into a lecture about how to take a hit so that he wasn't creating craters every time a bad guy managed to land a solid blow.

For the next hour, Superboy was being shoved to the floor, struggling to figure out how to channel the energy into a roll so that he could magically wind up on his feet again. Considering he had the grace of a charging rhino, things weren't exactly working out to his favor.

Robin found the overall attempt hilarious and would occasionally allow his laughter to ring out in the training hall. He considered himself lucky that Superboy had never bothered to take offense to his amusement, but that didn't mean he was ever about to push the line with scathing remarks like he did with Kid Flash. He still had yet to figure out just how much leeway he was being granted. Probably more than he realized since Superboy seemed to be okay with being watched.

Robin wasn't sure if he should be disturbed by that or not.

"Hey."

Robin's answering grin faltered a bit as Superboy took off his shirt while approaching, using it as a rag to wipe the sweat from his face despite the towels that were provided within the room. He could feel his mind starting to blank as he stared at the way the light shone off the sleek muscles on Superboy's abdomen, so he forced his gaze up to Superboy's face, which was looking slightly troubled.

"Does Batman know I put craters in everything?"

Robin blinked. Of course Batman knew. Granted, he mainly knew because he footed the bill on repair costs for the building and street-side casualties of their battles, but that wasn't exactly common knowledge.

"Batman knows everything," he settled for saying instead.

"Oh." Superboy cast an awkward glance to the side. "Well, is there anything he doesn't know? I mean, I know you're watching me so he can fill in the gaps, but if you want, you could just ask me and I'll give you honest answers."

An open invitation to ask the clone anything he wanted under the guise of it being information for Batman. Robin's brain nearly imploded with the possibilities.

"Why are you okay with me having a crush on you?" he blurted before the filter from his mind to his mouth could properly start functioning again.

Superboy was silent for a moment. "I thought you didn't have a crush on me."

"I don't." Robin cringed as he realized just what he had asked. "What I meant was…why did you  _seem_  okay at the  _idea_  of me having a crush on you?"

Superboy shrugged and walked over to the water station. "Megan has a crush on me as well. I guess I'm just used to it."

For some reason, this answer caused anger to bubble up within Robin as he trailed behind his friend. "But I'm not Megan." He nearly threw himself into the wall as he moved to lean back against it.

Water bottle poised in hand, Superboy turned his head to look at Robin, his steady gaze sending involuntary shivers down the Boy Wonder's spine. "No, you're not," the meta agreed. "Normally, when the girls watch me, I could care less. But when it's you…"

"You care?" Robin ventured to guess.

Superboy scowled and took a drink of water. "It's like I can't stop noticing."

"So it's distracting." Robin's shoulders slumped. Distractions were deadly for a superhero. "Sorry. I can stop—"

"Don't." Superboy was looking at him again and Robin found himself forgetting about his ability to read people. And possibly his real name. "It confused me at first, but then the movies made sense of some things." Superboy looked away. "Or, at least I thought they did."

Robin's brow cocked of its own accord. "Is it just me, or do you sound a little disappointed?"

Staring at his water bottle, Superboy frowned almost thoughtfully. "I'm not disappointed." His eyes peeked up at his companion. "But I'm not appointed, either."

Robin tried to fight back a smile and had to settle for smirking instead. Pushing himself off the wall, he took a few steps forward. "I know self-reflecting explanations aren't your strong suit, but I'm going to have to ask you to elaborate."

Superboy seemed to be at a momentary loss as he tried to think of a way to put his feelings into words. Robin watched in fascination as numerous emotions danced across the clone's face – hopelessness, despair, realization, hope, frustration, turmoil, anger, determination, comprehension, resolution, self-pride, all in that order. The guy was an open book; something Robin could already foresee many a villain taking advantage of in the future.

"Out of everyone on the team, you're the one with the most experience and expertise," Superboy began to explain, setting his water aside and turning to face Robin fully. "Despite being so small, we all—"

"Just so you know, I'm not done growing yet."

Superboy frowned at the interruption. When Robin merely grinned and shrugged, he continued. "We all have a lot of respect for you. So the idea of you finding me worthy enough of your feelings is – was – uh, still is flattering."

Robin tilted his head to the side. "Dude, you kind of sounded like Kaldur for a moment there."

"I tried talking to him about it," Superboy admitted with a shrug. "He seemed to come out of it pretty confused."

Robin laughed and shook his head. "I know that you feel like you have a lot to live up to, but I don't like you because I'm impressed by you." He paused as his eyes involuntarily swept over the meta-human's body. "Okay, that might not be entirely true. But I don't mean it in the way that you think."

"I thought you didn't like me?" Confusion and concern were melded together in the question.

"I do like you," Robin reassured. "I just don't  _like_  you like you. I mean, I might  _like_  you like you a little bit, but not in a  _like_  you like you kind of way. More of a like you than a  _like_  you." It was then that Robin realized he had been talking to the Boy of Steel's chest and his face fell into his hands with a groan. "This would be a lot less complicated if your shirt was on, by the way."

Thoroughly baffled, Superboy looked down at his torso. "Why?"

Robin made no move to bite back a derisive laugh. "Because then maybe my thoughts and whatever garbage is spilling from my mouth will start making a bit of sense."

After a moment, a light seemed to go on in Superboy's eyes and he took a step forward. If Robin didn't know any better, he would have guessed the clone was trying to provoke him. As the distance between them continued to close, he changed the 'guessed' to 'never been so sure of anything in my life.' Rather than duck out from being trapped between the wall and a hard…place, Robin allowed himself to be cornered. He stubbornly told himself it was out of curiosity as he tried to ignore how much warmer the room had gotten.

"Uh, what are you doing?" he asked, proud that his voice hadn't lost  _that_  much of its usual confidence.

"Something I saw in a movie," Superboy answered, raising his arms so that they were resting against the wall on either side of Robin's head.

"Okay…Dare I ask why?" Superboy shifted his stance and Robin's hands flew up to stop him from coming any closer. He instantly recognized his mistake at Superboy's sharp intake of breath and the way his abdominal muscles flexed under nimble fingers.

Robin couldn't recall seeing the particular movie Superboy was referencing, but he was pretty sure he had a general idea of where these scenarios ended up. He wondered if he would have to start showing off some of the defensive moves Batman had taught him back in the early days.

"You—…could you please stop touching me?" Superboy pleaded. "It's distracting."

Robin allowed his hands to linger for a moment longer as he finished memorizing the feel of the contours of Superboy's stomach before crossing his arms to resist any further temptation.

"Your way of explaining was getting confusing," Superboy simply stated.

Robin grinned. "Less talking, more action?" he offered.

Superboy smiled and started to lean in, only to abruptly stop himself with a defeated look flashing across his face. "I'm…okay with you and Batman monitoring me."

Robin's eyes widened. Right. Time to clear that one up. "We're not," he said quickly. "Well, I'm not. Batman probably is, but that's only because he monitors everybody. But I promise we both trust you and don't think you're evil or anything."

"But…if you're not watching me for Batman or because you have a crush on me, then why…?" There was no confusion in the question. Merely a demand for answers.

It was then that Robin noticed the slight strain in the shoulders, the controlled breathing, the sheer intensity in the gaze – Superboy wanted this. Badly. But he was refusing to make a move under the uncertainty of Robin's true feelings. And Robin knew without a doubt that if he gave even the slightest indication otherwise, his friend would back away without hesitation and accept whatever answers were fed to him at face value.

But Robin only had an appreciation for what Superboy was trying to achieve. Right? Considering how completely swept away he was feeling at the moment, Robin decided he wasn't so sure. Perhaps there was some truth in Wally's last words before he was unceremoniously kicked out from his bedroom last night.

Reaching out, Robin gently rested his hands on Superboy once more.

"Hey, Supey, Megan made cookies for you and said I had to ask –Whoa! Sorry! GladtoseeallthiscrushbusinessworkedoutI'lljusttellMeganyousaidyesandwecanpretendIwasnevereven – HIBATMAN!Youshouldcomewithme andhaveacookie!"

"…What?"

There was absolutely no sign Wally had even entered the training room as far as his voice had suggested, but at the deep baritone of Batman's voice, the two boys sprang apart. Robin ducked under Superboy's arm and cartwheeled over several feet while the clone returned to the safety of his water bottle.

"No, really! She's gotten a lot better about not burning them ever since we showed her how to use the timer on the oven and…wow. You guys are…" Wally trailed off from observing the amount of distance between his friends as he noticed he was being scrutinized by the Dark Knight. "…done! Training! Great! Now we can  _all_  eat cookies!"

Batman chose to ignore Wally's off-the-wall behavior. "We're needed in Gotham. Go change and meet me by the zeta tubes."

Waiting until Batman's back was turned, Robin released the towel he had been pretending to fold with trembling hands. He knew he liked playing with fire, but that had been too close of a call in more ways than one. Turning, he waved goodbye to Superboy, making no attempt to pretend he didn't notice the way he was being watched as he left the room.

He knew Superboy as still waiting for his answer, but that was okay. He needed some time to think to figure out where he stood for certain. After all, denial never did look good on him.

THE END.


End file.
